Struggle, Freedom and Change
As one year draws to a close and another one unfolds, it is always a time for reflection, introspection, and resolutions. Many persons resolve to leave bad habits and to assume acceptable modes of behaviour. Heads of gov…
Eco-Instigator #22
Someone said that you don’t mop the floor with the tap running. We agree. Tackling climate change requires that we stop the very things pumping Green House Gases into the atmosphere and focus on transiting to 100% renewa…
A Call For Climate Common Sense
As the world hurtles towards climate catastrophe, the prime suspects keeping the world on this track are busy blocking negotiations aimed at tackling the problem. Climate crimes are not merely the ones already visible, t…
Kick the polluters out of the COP (A COP24 Poem)
Kick the polluters out of the COP (A COP24 Poem) Today what do we say? Kick the polluters out of the COP Yesterday the world celebrated 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights In the Niger Delta we …
Kotawice and Climate Pathways
President Buhari made a subtle Climate justice pitch in Katowice There is cautious optimism that nations may get serious about climate change as the 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention o…
When Dream Die
When dreams die, are people left with nothing but fear? We need to question the inevitability of fear as the outcome of broken or dead dreams. For this reflection, we will take a ‘dream’ to mean a cherished aspiration o…
A Dose of Needless Medicine
A Dose of Needless Medicine. In this reflection we are looking at genetically modified cotton (GM) in the light of the Tortoise Principle. There is a folktale about a time a Lion was sick and declared that all the anima…
Do Not Betray Africa on Extreme Genetic Engineering
Do Not Betray Africa on SynBio and Gene Drives As representatives of a broad range of African civil society organisations (CSOs), we do not feel represented by the delegations of Nigeria and South Africa, speaking on beh…
I Dream Of Clean Creeks
I dream of clean creeks. Writing about the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta can be quite a struggle for me at times. Many times, I have set aside my poetry quill and declared to myself that I would no longer write po…
The Instigator debuts
My weekly column, The Instigator, commenced on Friday 9 November 2018 in The Leadership newspaper. You can join the weekly conversation by getting the hard copies on by looking it up online. We will be sharing the piec…
We can plant a seed
We can plant a seed Way back yesterday In the glow of nighttime fires We sat around steamy bowls Carving up mounds of foo foo Then dipping our hands in hot soups Mouths long open awaited the feast With every bite our ton…
Eco-Instigator #21
We are glad to serve you a feisty edition of your informative Eco-Instigator. In it you will find articles and reports from our projects and our continuous struggles for ecological justice. Due to the focus of extractive…
Red Card for Climate Inaction
Red Card for Climate Inaction. The Climate alarm could not have been much louder than the special report (SR15) that has just been released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). While the Paris Agreeme…
Systemic Betrayal of Farmers (and Consumers)
Systemic betrayal of farmers. Applications for the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into Nigeria started flowing literally before the ink with which the bill was signed into law had dried. Promoters …
Is There Biosafety in Nigeria?
Is There Biosafety in Nigeria? At a recent HOMEF dialogue with farmers, most of the participants declared that they have never heard of anything called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). When they got to know what G…
